Fingering attachment for guitars



w. sPA'RTIvENTo, FINGERING ATTACHMENT FOR GUITARS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2L I92I. 1,437,026, Patented Nov. 28, 1922,

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. SPARTIVENTO.

FINGERING ATTACHMENT FOR GUITARS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27. 192,1.

1,437,026', PamndfNov. 28, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 7T f7. 5; 1 z2 35 Z/ f v III/FIIIIII IIII'IIIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIII W. SPARTIVENTO. FINGERING ATTACHMENT FOR GUITARS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 27,1921.

Patented'Nov. 28, 1922;

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Nov. 28, 1922.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM SPARTIVENTO, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

FINGERING ATTACHMENT FOB GUITARS.

Application led September 27, 1921.

To all fui/tom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SPARTIVENTO, a citizen of the United States, residing at Budalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a F ingering Attachment for Guitars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a. full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a fingering attachment for guitars to facilitate the playing of chords by depressing a single key or button,

@ne important object is to generally improve, simplify and render more efficient the construction disclosed in my co-pending application Serial Number 434,898. n

I particularly aim to reduce the number of parts employed in the device of said application and one enabling me to dispense with the angle levers used therein.

Additional objects and advantages will appear from the description hereinafter following taken in connection with accompanying drawings illustrating a practical embodiment thereof.

In said drawings z Figure 1 is a plan View showing my attachment applied to a guitar, the latter being fragmentarily Shown;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the parts of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view on the line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a. detail plan view of the plunger securing plate;

Figure 6 is a detail plan view of the plunger mounting plate; and

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view of the type of plunger employed.

Referring specifically to the drawings, a guitar is conventionally shown fragmentarily at 9, its strings being designated, E, A, D, G, B and E, which also indicates the pitch of their open notes, in a practical case. In carrying out my improvement, a suitable casing 2, preferably rectangular in shape with its upper side edges curved or beveled, is employed and adapted to be secured rigidly to the guitar as by means of a clamp arm 3 pivoted to'the casing at 4, and asso- Serial No. 503,562.

ciated with a fastening screw 5 passable through the arm and into the casing. A binding screw 6 may pass through the clamp 3 as shown in Figure 5.

Suitably secured within the casing is a mounting board or base 7, whose lower surface is raised above the strings. This base 7 has rows of recesses 8, from which lead openings 9 forming constricted necks and shoulders 10. `Each row of recesses 8 is diagonally disposed as shown in the drawings.

A plunger as detailed in Figure 7 is disposed in each of the recesses 8. Each plunger has an upper and lower alined stem 11 and 12 intermediate which a projection 13 is formed, which may assume the shape of a latera'l annular flange. The flange 13 is substantially of the same diameter as the recesses 8 and said flanges are disposed in said recesses with the stems 12 passing through the openings 9. Within each recess, an expansive coil spring 14 is disposed, encircling stems 12, bearing against the undersurface of the flanges 13 and the shoulder 9, whereby the plungers are normally retracted, that is held spaced above the strings of the instrument.

Over fifty keys or combinations are preferably provided so as to give all of the tones required on the guitar, but in the main series about thirty-five are required. Anynumber, of course, may be used. The number of rows of plungers may be increased in which instance I preferably increase the size of the instrument and component parts generally.

A securing plate 15 is provided being fastened in any suitable manner to the base 7 after the plungers have been disposed therein. Base 15 has a plurality of openings 16 therethrough, disposed in alinement with the recesses 8. Stems 11 extend through the recesses 16 and project above the same as shown. It will be realized that the plungers are vertically slidable in the recesses 8 and the openings 9 and 16 against the tension of the springs 14. Springs 14 urge the flanges 13 into contact with the under surface of the plate 15.

Disposed transversely of the casing 1 am a plurality of rocking bars 17, normally angularly disposed as shown and resting on appropriate stems 11 of the plungers. These locking bars have arms 18 which terminate Q'. i y. 1,437,026

*f 'piece of metal, nichel plated, and conforms to the exterior shape of vthe casing so as `to cover all holes or rough material in order to presentan attractive and pleasing ap-k pearance.

The plungers are vpreferably operated in multiple, so aste enable chords to be played by depression oi a single lever or actuating member. To this end, actuating members in the form of elongated levers 26 are dislposed within the casing l, being pivoted to the front wall 27 of said casing as at 28. Each lever has one or more dependinglugs or projections 29 which rest on and engage appropriate locking bars 17 as shown in Figure 3.

To enable manipulation ot the lever 26, the end wallsoiithe casing 2 are cut away as at 30 and a stem 3l rises from each lever adjacent the free end, passing through openings 32 in the cover walls 22, and having their upper lextremities provided with butn tons or caps 33.

Attention is called to the fact that the lower ends otthe lugs 29 are disposed at an angle, reference to the tulcrum 28, so that regardless of the distance oi the lugs 29 from the pivot 28, they will all actuate the plunger-s to the same extent, throughout the length ot the levers 26.

lt will be realized, that in operation, instead o depressing he plungers 21 or equivalent means to actuate the string engaging plungers independently', that the keys 33 are depressed so that upon each depression, a chord will be played, as a result of the depression of a plurality of the plungers.

After depression o the plungers against the strings and release thereof, the springs 14 will restore the plungers and the rocking levers 17 and levers 26 to normal position.

Changes may be made within the spirit and scope. l

I claimas my invention 1. A vlingering attachment i'or string instruments having plungers to engage the strings, an operating lever, movable operat ing members resting on the plungers, rocking bars pivoted to the lever and directly engageable with said members, and springs to norn mally maintain the plungers out of contact with the strings.

2. A lingering attachment for string instruments having plungers to engage the strings, rocker bars resting directly on the plungers, and an actuating lever directly engageable with said rocker bars.

A lingering attachment for stringed instruments having plungers to engage the strings, roclrer bars resting on the plungers, a plurality o' depressible levers, and projections on said leversv directly engageable with said rocker bars.

4. A fingering attachment for stringed instruments consisting of a casing, a base therein provided with recesses, said base having openings smaller than the recesses and leading therefrom to provide shoulders, a closure platefor the recesses having openings therethrough, plungers having stems slidable in said openings, an abutment on the plungers occupying the recesses, springs surroundingl the stems of the plungers within the recesses and engaging said abutment and said shoulders, said plungers extending above said abutment plates, rocker bars journaledto the casing and resting on said plungers above the abutment plates, a plurality of depressible levers, and projections on said levers directly7 engageable with said rocker bars.

ln testimony whereof l my signature I 

